Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

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Te Deum

Introduction

The Te Deum, with its intoxicating, repetitive melody and ecstatic accumulation of praise, is the great celebratory Hymn of the medieval Latin church, often mentioned in chronicles of the crusades. These sources frequently refer to the ringing of bells during the Te Deum, a manner of performance which, in the crusader kingdom established in 1099, was not just a continuance of a performance practice often associated with sequences on the most festive days, but was also an assertion of Latin Christian identity, powerfully invested in the bell. As Latin chroniclers often remark, the Orthodox Church and the religion of Islam do not use metal bells.

We praise you, God; we acknowledge you as Lord.
All the earth worships you as eternal father.
All the angels, the heavens and all the powers,
cherubim and seraphim,
call to you with unceasing voice:
‘Holy, holy, holy, lord God of hosts;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory.’
The glorious choir of apostles,
the company of prophets worthy of praise
and the radiant phalanx of martyrs praise you.
The holy church acknowledges you throughout the world,
Father of immense majesty,
so too your true and only Son who is to be honoured,
so too the Holy Spirit.
You, O Christ, are the king of Glory;
you are the eternal Son of the Father.
When about to free mankind
you did not disdain the virgin’s womb.
You, having overcome the sting of death,
opened the kingdom of heaven to the faithful.
You sit at the right hand of the God
in the glory of the Father.
You are believed to be the judge to come;
therefore, we beseech you to help your dependents
whom you have redeemed with precious blood.
Let them be numbered with eternal glory
among your saints.
O Lord, save your people,
and bless your inheritance,
govern them and raise them up for eternity.
Every day we bless you,
and praise your name
world without end.
O lord, honour this day;
keep us protected without sin.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us
as we have trusted you to do.
I have put my hope in you O Lord;
may I not be damned for eternity.